Max's Bar

It's been many years since I've seen this film, but I've never forgotten it. There's little I can offer in terms of praise that hasn't already been posted here by other commentators.

It's a film about adversity, finding friendship, and finding the inner strength to rebuild and embrace life for what it is. It's a film that shows people with physical disabilities in a very normal light, showing them to be neither noble-handicaps nor pitiful cripples, but as normal everyday folks with all the faults and good points of humanity. It's a film about coping with one's own decisions, and overcoming life's challenges.

There's some mild profanity, and references to adult situations, as well as some violence, so be warned ahead of time. It's a film the likes of which I have not seen since, and am hopeful that it'll see a DVD release someday. Until then we'll just have to wait :-(

In the meantime if you get a chance to view it, then do so :-)

Detailing the plot of this film would lead the unsuspecting to assume they were in for an hour and a half of depression - but quite the opposite. The acting was spot on, the script razor sharp, and the storyline genuinely different and inspiring. I've not seen a copy on video or dvd for years, and for some reason it's never been on terrestrial tv in the UK, and I have to admit I'm baffled as to why. In the genre, it's quite simply one of the best films ever made.

I happened upon this movie at the video store and had to rent it because it'd been years since I first saw this movie in the early 80's. This was the movie that introduced me to my now all time favorite actor, John Savage. I truly loved him in this movie as Roary, a man who attempts suicide and ends up a cripple. His handicap leads him to meet some amazing people he might never have had if he wasn't. Through them, he learns about true friendship, love and acceptance for who you are. The ending also tugs at you when Roary explains why he tried to kill himself. A person could really relate to his reasoning why and you can feel the emptiness he must have felt. If you are a John Savage fan and haven't seen this one yet, I highly suggest it, if you can still find it in the video stores.

This is one of my favorites. Read the other comments because they accurately reflect what is great about this movie. With the jarring beginning and all the ugly snapshots of inner city life, this movie makes me want to go back to this believable place that has been created. It makes you believe there is really a place called Max's... a place with diversity and all the complexities of humankind... and that there is hope for mankind! Some of my favorite lines that I repeat constantly (probably wrong): "He'll come back. He just wants to spend some time with his dream." "You've got it backwards. First you get crippled, then you try to commit suicide". Of course... "I'm big, BIG, bigger than you...but that's not hard to be Jerry ... that's not hard to be!" (BTW, does anyone know what Roary (that's how Rory spells it) says after that?... it sounds like "Oh, my hiney" Let me know. My wife and I have played it back 100 times. John Savage has many great lines throughout this. I could never figure out why he didn't win an award. Finally,I think the often-called hokey/corny ending is necessary to bring us back from a hard smack on a Buick. "Hey Roary!"

"Inside Moves" was marketed in Japan as "San Francisco Monogatari"

which means "San Francisco Story." ("To Kill a Mockingbird" is known

in Japan as "Alabama Monogatari".) "Inside Moves" is another little

movie that when I saw it in a cheap theater in Japan, I thought,

"Great. I am going to enjoy seeing this many times"; only to find

myself waiting for decades for it to resurface. It's a film which

examines the essence of humanity: heart, mind, and body. It's about

finding yourself through helping others; something that in the Thai

language is called, "Nam Jai" which means "water from the heart."

Sometimes we find it and sometimes we lose it. My favorite line is

John Savage's, "You don't have to come around anymore. We don't need

your kind of cripple" to indicate the sorry lot of those who have lost

the joy of giving and the value of camaraderie. But "Inside Moves"

gives it back again.